Who is Metallica's drummer and co-founder?

Lars Ulrich is Metallica’s drummer and a co-founder of the band.

Ulrich formed Metallica with James Hetfield in Los Angeles in 1981 after placing an advertisement seeking musicians. He had moved from Denmark to Southern California as a teenager, initially pursuing tennis before turning seriously toward drumming and heavy metal. His connection to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, especially Diamond Head, helped shape Metallica’s early musical direction.

Ulrich’s drumming is particularly associated with the fast, aggressive rhythms of Metallica’s early thrash-metal records, including Kill ’Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets. Over time, his playing became more varied and often more economical, but drums remained his defining role in the band.

A common mix-up is identifying him as Metallica’s frontman because of his major role in interviews, business decisions and songwriting. He is not the lead singer: that role belongs to Hetfield. Ulrich and Hetfield are the only remaining original members and share songwriting credits on most of Metallica’s catalog.